2014

GET OUT OF THE GROWTH TRAP!

location32014

page 3EDITORIAL

GET OUT OF THE GROWTH TRAP!

VGP and its joint venture partners sold a portfolio of prime logistics assets in the Czech Republic for € 523 million. That portfolio includes our flagship development at Horní Počernice and our regional assets in Liberec, Hradec Králové, Mladá Boleslav, Nýřany and Olomouc.

I would like to express my gratitude for the outstanding relationship we have had with all of our tenants in these parks over the years.

Our latest motto is: "Get out of the growth trap!"

03 editorial

04 news

06 project / HEADING TO THE NORTH OF GERMANY

08 business / BEHIND THE SCENES: THE PORT OF HAMBURG

10 excursion / GATEWAY TO THE WORLD

12 quo vadis / DIRK STOOP: LOCATION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SUCCESS DRIVER

14 our team / NEW PEOPLE IN THE VGP TEAM

16 our team / IT IS A PLEASURE TO MANAGE THE ASSETS OF VGP

18 brand story / HARTMANN – RICO: WE ARE THE HELPERS OF HELPERS

20 interview / MIRKO REISSER: TAGS ARE MY SELF-PORTRAITS

24 dreams / ADVENTURERS WITHOUT BORDERS

27 do you need space?

Well, it is never easy to sell something that you have been building with so many dedicated people over a long period of time, but the proceeds will be all used to support the future growth of VGP and, as a service provider, for the future growth of our customers!

We have invested in many new locations over the past weeks and months, both in Germany as well as in the Czech Republic and are currently present in over 20 parks across Europe. We hope to welcome you soon or welcome you again one day in one of our new parks.

Best regards,Jan Van Geet

published by VGPJenišovice 59468 33 Jenišovice u Jablonce nad Nisoutel.: 00420 483 346 060location@vgpparks.euwww.vgpparks.euissue 9, volume VII.

editors Jan Van Geet, Petra Roušarováauthors of texts Boomerang Publishing,FleishmanHillard Germany GmbHphotography archiv VGP, www.profimedia.com, Foto RAF, www.fotoraf.cz Pavel Horák, www.phph.cz

design Markéta Hanzalová, www.colmo.czprint ASTRON studio CZ, a. s.

MK ČR E 20480

3.0 × 3.5 m

Rubber aprons outside

fully automatic hydrauliclevelling bridges

loading capacity of 60 kN

manipulation spaces adequately dimensioned to handle fully loaded 18 m vehicles

loading areas paved with heavy-duty interlocking concrete tiles

location3 location32014

page 4 page 5

issue 09, volume VII.

NEWSNEWS

VGP and its joint-venture part-ner Tristan Capital Partners sold a portfolio of prime logistics assets and development land in the Czech Republic to Prague-based PointPark Properties (P3) for € 523 million. The sale is one of the largest sin-gle logistics transactions by value in Europe of the past ten years. VGP will primarily reinvest its part of the sales proceeds in VGP's core mar-kets located in Central Europe and especially Germany. The transaction covers a total of 58 modern logistics buildings with a total of 627,000 m2 of lettable space and includes 36 hec-tares of development land, primar-ily around Prague. At the core of the transaction is VGP Park Horní Počernice, one of the largest logistics parks in the Czech Republic, which VGP has been developing since 2006. “This deal underlines the quality of what we have realised in the past and allows us to accelerate considerably our ambitious growth plans in the

future,” said Jan Van Geet, CEO of VGP. For VGP this deal will have a signifi-cant positive impact on its growth strategy which is concentrating more and more on the German mar-ket. While this market has already emerged as a new core market for

VGP during the past 2 years, the sales proceeds of the transaction received by VGP will enable VGP to accelerate nationwide investment and project development activities in Germany. In addition, the Czech Republic with a strong development pipeline and recent acquisitions of new development land will remain an important market for VGP. In addition, VGP will also continue pro-viding property and facility manage-ment services to the portfolio sold to P3.

VGP Park Nehatu is the second VGP Park being developed in Estonia. The park is located at the outskirts of Tal-linn close to the Port of Tallinn and Tallinn Ring Road. Tallinn and Esto-nia in general have shown a strong economic rebound over the past few years, which has been translated in a strong increase in demand for lettable space at VGP Park Nehatu, confirming its excellent location. The develop-ment of VGP Park Nehatu was initi-ated in June 2013 with the acquisi-tion of a 110,000 m² plot of land. Since then, VGP has already com-pleted the first fully leased building of 22,000 m², one additional build-ing of 21,500 m² (about to be fully leased) is under completion and a last building of 7,500 m² (fully pre-let) is being started. In other words, over a 12-month period VGP has success-fully developed more than 50,000 m² in Tallinn. Among our tenants are

such big names as Boomerang Dis-tribution OÜ, Freselle OÜ and the Estonian Ministry of Defence. Driven by the continuing strong demand for lettable area, VGP recently secured an additional plot of land adjacent

to existing developments for the construction of an additional fourth building of approximately 10,440 m². The launch of construction for this last building is scheduled for early next year. Once this last building is completed, VGP Park Nehatu will rep-resent a total lettable area of approxi-mately 61,000 m², making VGP Park Nehatu the largest modern industrial development in Estonia.

During the first half of 2014, VGP delivered a solid performance in terms of development, leasing and property and facility management activities. Roll out of the Group's activities gath-ered pace in Germany with additional leases being signed and new develop-ments being completed and or in the last stages of completion. The potential pipeline for future leases and develop-ments in Germany continued to fill up well, which will result in the signing of significant new lease contracts and start-up of new developments dur-ing the second half of 2014. Operating activities resulted in a net profit of € 43.4 million (€ 2.33 per share) for the period ending 30 June 2014 compared

to a net profit of € 9.1 million (€ 0.49 per share) for the same period of the previous year. Due to increased demand for lettable area, VGP Group managed to sign new lease contracts in excess of € 7.0 million in total. Since the start of German operations in 2012, VGP has already successfully contracted more than € 3.5 million of new committed leases in this mar-ket as at the end of June 2014. Activi-ties in other VGP markets went well with Romania and Estonia having an outstanding first half. The Group's property portfolio reached an occu-pancy rate of 96.7% at the end of June 2014 (excluding associates) compared to 96.9% as at 31 December 2013.

The Group's committed annualised rent income increased to € 13.0 mil-lion as at 30 June 2014 compared to € 10.4 million as at 31 December 2013. The investment property portfo-lio consists of 15 completed buildings representing 214,287 m² of lettable area with another 8 buildings under construction representing 121,148 m² of lettable area. During the first half of 2014, VGP continued to expand its land bank and acquired 584,000 m² of new development land in Germany. In addition, at the end of June the Group had 238,000 m² of land (152,000 m² located in Germany) targeted and partially committed to expand the land bank and support the develop-ment pipeline. The net valuation of the property portfolio as at 30 June 2014 showed a net valuation gain of € 40.9 million against a net valua-tion gain of € 7.4 million as at 30 June 2013, reflecting improving market conditions and increased attractive-ness for investors of A-grade logistic buildings.

ONE OF EUROPE'S BIGGEST REAL ESTATE DEALS OF THE PAST DECADE

EXTENSION OF VGP PARK NEHATU

HALF-YEAR RESULTS FOR 2014 SOLID PERFORMANCE UNDERLINES GROWTH STRATEGY

VGP Park Horní Počernice

VGP Park Horní Počernice

VGP Park Nehatu

location32014

page 7page 6

location3 issue 09, volume VII.

PROJECTPROJECT

direction of Bremen, Hannover and Berlin as well as towards the A21 and A20 motorways towards Travemünde/Lübeck and Rostock. In addition, they need not overcome the usual traffic obstacles of the in-ner city of Hamburg, such as the tunnel under the river Elbe or the Köhlbrand Bridge. It saves them the cost of transporting goods,” explains Jan Van Geet. Moreover, the route from the Altenwerder container ter-minal to the park is not hampered by any traffic lights. The location is already very popular thanks to its unique position on the boundary be-tween Northern and Eastern Europe. Existing tenants include Lidl, DHL, Geodis and C&A.

Tailored solution After the completion of construction, VGP Park Hamburg will be one of the largest contiguous commercial logis-tics sites in Germany.

All the plots of land have building permits for development activities and are equipped with all the nec-essary infrastructure to enable the VGP Group to build approximately 210,000 m² of top-class semi-indus-trial real estate assets. The park of-fers units ranging from small sizes of 1,000 m² to tailored solutions for large logistics companies. The prem-ises are suitable for logistics ser-vices, light manufacturing, and com-mercial activities.

Attention, traffic jam aheadThere is one more unique advantage offered to clients by the VGP Park. Namely, the area's connection to the DIVA (Dynamische Information zum Verkehrsaufkommen) traffic infor-mation system which monitors the traffic situation further from the port and informs drivers on giant four-metre electronic displays about rel-evant current problems. One of these panels is located right next to the exit from the park, so truck drivers can see how long they would be held up in a traffic jam. If they decide to wait until the situation calms down, they can get refreshments at the fill-ing station located directly opposite the park.

Until 2012, the VGP Group focused mainly on its activities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and the Baltic States. A decision was made last year to focus also on Germany and its industrial surroundings. We have set as a priority to expand our plots of land, targeting mainly industrial areas. “Both Germany and Poland have econo-mies whose growth exceeds the average of EU countries, which leads to a significantly higher need for rentable ar-eas. Several existing and potential tenants have requested

from us higher activity on these markets,” says Jan Van Geet, CEO of VGP.

A second park will grow near HamburgThe first area that we began to build in Germany was VGP Park Rodgau, whose total area would be 220,000 m². This park is adjacent to the road B45 and is only 23 kilometres from the international airport in Frankfurt. We began to im-plement another logistics centre near the northern German city of Hamburg, Germany's largest seaport and the main port for container and bulky goods. As one of Europe's lead-ing junction ports focused on container transport, it offers the shortest and fastest connections to all economic centres in Germany; Northern, Central and Eastern Europe; Austria; and Switzerland as well as the best maritime transport to all overseas locations. The volume of goods cleared in the Germany's largest seaport of Hamburg amounts to more than 139 million tonnes per year.

“We are very happy to have acquired the land in Ham-burg. This transaction has provided us with a solid base in Germany and presented VGP as a strong local devel-oper. Together with our rapidly growing German team, we are enjoying our first tenants. In the meantime, we are continuing an active search for other opportunities for development activities in accordance with our stra-tegy to acquire, as possibilities allow, top locations in the vicinity of large economically strong agglomerations in Germany,” says Jan Van Geet.

Without traffic lights and right near the highwayVGP Park Hamburg consists of about 80 hectares and is located 20 kilometres south of Hamburg on the A1 Ham-burg-Bremen motorway neat the exit to Rade. “From this location, clients have good access to the main roads in the

HEADING TO

THE NORTH

OF GERMANYLast year, VGP signed a contract for the purchase of plots of land in the location of Rodgau and this spring, its portfolio increased by 51 hectares in Hamburg. With this step, the Group continues its strategy of strengthening its position on the territory of Germany.

VGP Park Hamburg, visualisation

VGP Park Hamburg under construction

VGP Park Hamburg under construction

VGP Park Hamburg, ready to operate

location3 location32014

page 8 page 9

issue 09, volume VII.

BUSINESSBUSINESS

an environmental point of view. We want to combine information about roads, waterways and railways as well as our mobile infrastructure to provide an optimal supply of infor-mation at our port for all parties. This will only succeed, of course, if everyone participates. That's why at the start of the year we installed the first DIVA board in a logistics park outside of the port, which displays the volume of traffic at the Port of Hamburg. For us, this is a further step towards making traffic guidance at the port somewhat more efficient.

Q What is the impact of the infrastructure for traffic

and logistics in surrounding areas on the Port of Hamburg's growth strategy and targets?Hamburg also has superb links to the continental rail network and therefore an environmentally

friendly route to the areas surround-ing the port. Today, 30% of goods revenue at the Port of Hamburg is transacted via the port railway's ef-ficient rail network and the national networks. This amount has not been achieved by any other European port.

Q How important are links to nearby logistics and industrial

estates or parks for the HPA?The importance of the Port of Ham-burg in the transport chain goes way beyond loading and unloading. Alongside actual handling, the sea-port offers other goods services, such as storage, commissioning, consoli-dation and distribution. In order to meet the rising demand for logistics services in the Hamburg area, logis-tics locations within and outside the port area with attractive infrastruc-ture are important.

The new VGP Park Hamburg is only 20 km away from Hamburg, on the south-western side of the city. And this is for a very good reason: thanks to its strategically advantageous location, where the Elbe Estuary reaches into the North Sea, the Port of Hamburg is one of Germany's most important traffic junctions.

BEHIND THE SCENESTHE PORT OF HAMBURG

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE PORT OF HAMBURG

The Port of Hamburg is one

of the largest and most

important sea ports in the

world. Why? Here the hard

facts speak for themselves:

The port's surface area is 7,200 ha, which equals one-tenth of the area of Hamburg.

The Port of Hamburg connects 950 ports in 178 countries with one another.

156,000 people/jobs in the metropolitan region of Hamburg depend directly and indirectly on the port's operations. That is roughly the population of Potsdam.

PERFORMANCE Around 10,000 ships a year

use the Port of Hamburg. In 2011, the total cargo han-

dled in the Port of Hamburg was 132.2 million tonnes.

More than 200 freight trains with 5,000 trucks a day make Ham-burg Europe's largest railway port and the world's second largest.

PARTNERS 1,700 transport companies have

their head offi ces in Hamburg. 20 of the 25 largest liner shipping com-

panies in the world have their European head offi ce or a subsidiary in Hamburg.

More than 110 railway com-panies operate on the port rail-way network, a world record.

THE PORT IN KILOMETRES The port area includes a total

road network of 140 km. The Port of Hamburg also owns

304 km of railway and 880 points. 12 km of beach along the Elbe

also belongs to the port area, and the HPA is responsible for its maintenance and upkeep.

49 km of quay walls must be regularly inspected – that's as long as the Hamburg – Lüneburg line.

Over 130 bridges connect Ham-burg's Port with the Elbe islands, in addition to which there are mis-cellaneous pontoon bridges.

currently working on?Right now, we are working on sev-eral infrastructure projects on land, such as the Rethe drawbridge. From 18 to 22 July 2014, the valves were installed on the bridge, which will be Europe's largest drawbridge of its kind. The New Kattwyk Railway Bridge is also on the agenda. Both bridges are currently under construc-tion and are intended to reduce con-gestion and improve the flow of traf-fic. The new bridges also provide an alternative route for the much-used Köhlbrand Bridge.

Q Could you please explain your traffic management

concept for optimizing the flow of traffic? Are there plans to improve direct links to surrounding areas?Our goal is to create smartPORT, an intelligent port. Smart means ex-changing information to improve the quality and efficiency of the port as an important part of the sup-ply chain. This includes intelligent solutions for the flow of transport and goods at the Port of Hamburg from not only an economic but also

The fi rst DIVA board, set up outside the port in 2014

Visualisation of Rethe drawbridge, currently under construction

In an interview with VGP, Jens-Erik Wegner, Director of Landside Port Infrastructure and Member of the Management Board, shared more in-formation about the special features and infrastructure of this logistically important location.

Q What was the total volume of transhipments at the

Port of Hamburg last year?In 2013, the Port of Hamburg reached a volume of 139 million tonnes in transhipments, an increase of 6.2%. Both general cargo with its total of 96.8 million tonnes (+ 5.7%) and bulk cargo transhipments at 42.3 million tonnes (+ 7.2%) produced above-aver-age growth for Germany's biggest uni-versal port. For 2014, the marketing team at the Port of Hamburg expects a further increase in sea cargo handling, which should reach a moderate gain by the end of the year.

Q What types of goods are predominantly handled at

the Port of Hamburg, and where do most of the goods handled at the port come from? Various types of goods are handled at the Port of Hamburg. For instance, Hamburg is Europe's largest port for importing coffee and also the largest European trade centre for pharma-ceutical materials. Moreover, Ham-burg is one of the leading tranship-ment centres in the world for tea, cocoa, coffee and spices. In 2013, the most important trading partner

for container handling at the Port of Hamburg was by far China, followed by Russia and Singapore.

Q How is the port’s sustainable growth to be ensured?

With a view to the future of the Port of Hamburg, we are looking for in-novative ideas to exploit its potential for growth in a sustainable way and to strengthen and develop its inter-national position in the long term. To achieve this, we must not only satisfy current demand, but also keep the fu-ture in mind. In Hamburg, we there-fore began concentrating on modern IT processes at an early stage and will continue along this path.

Q What infrastructure projects on land and sea is the HPA

The Port of Hamburg

location3 location32014

page 10 page 11

issue 09, volume VII.

EXCURSION EXCURSION

Today, the Hanseatic City can boast of interesting architecture, a great numerous museums and green parks, and, of course, the pride that the city can have in being one of the largest of transport hubs. No wonder the city was named “Gateway to the World” due to its strategic location at the Elbe's outlet to the North Sea. For these reasons, it is hardly surprising that VGP Group decided to build its next logistics park in close proximity to this magnificent city.

In the Middle Ages, Hamburg had been part of the Hanseatic League that joined important ports and trad-ing towns in northern Germany, the Baltics and other surrounding areas. When it comes to size, Hamburg can score in several areas. With almost 1.75 million inhabitants, it is the second-largest German city. It has the second-largest port in Europe, and it is one of the most important Euro-pean paper shipment stations. More-over, it contains the largest trading

centre for pharmaceutical materials, the Europe's largest import port for coffee, one of the largest spice ship-ment stations and the world's biggest carpet warehouse.

Ships, trains, aeroplanes...Hamburg benefits most from freight container transport. But in 2009 the economic crisis affected Hamburg and its port. It took 2 years to re-cover from the downturn, and then transhipment of 139 million tonnes of marine cargo was achieved in 2013. Its ranking as the world’s 15th largest container port was confirmed once again.

Hamburg and its shipping are in-separable. But Hamburg is also the largest German centre for the civil aerospace industry – with Toulouse the most important in Europe. With the two industry giants Airbus and

GATEWAY TO THE WORLDViewed from a purely objective point of view, one can say that Hamburg offers a lot of possibilities whereof other cities can only dream: the picturesque waterfront location on the Alster and Elbe and the port which characterizes the city – cosmopolitan, multicultural, the export engine of the German economy.

Lufthansa Technik as well as Ham-burg Airport, the aviation cluster of the Hamburg Metropolitan Re-gion includes more than 300 mostly medium-sized suppliers as well as numerous research and educational institutes. About 40,000 highly quali-fied employees work in research and development departments and in manufacturing aircraft, thus form-ing the third-largest centre for the civil aerospace industry worldwide. The density of the local network of railway connections for freight trains is unique not only for Ger-many but for all of Europe. Accord-ing to information from Logistics Initiative Hamburg, it is estimated that in 2015 the port will handle as

many as 500 freight trains per day. In addition, the port was connected in August 2013 with the Chinese city of Zhengzhou by a direct train route that leads through Kazakhstan, Rus-sia, Belarus and Poland. In future, containers will travel this route in only 15 days.

Logistics caught a second windThe port of Hamburg is the largest employer in the metropolitan area. And so it is hardly surprising that the Hamburg labour market is dominated by an industry that is more heavily represented than in any other Ger-man city: logistics. Most new jobs are created in this area. That is little wonder, as this city's transport

accessibility makes it a dream come true for investors. In addition to the mentioned port and railway network, Hamburg Airport is located just 11 kilometres from the city centre. Here, 60 airlines are connecting to more than 120 destinations.

A real gem for touristsThis northern German Hanseatic city has much to offer not only to busi-nessmen but also to tourists. The many attractions and the natural flair of a port city make the visit extra special. St. Pauli, the quarter with the famous Reeperbahn street full of bars, sex shops and casinos, represents only one of the city's many tourist mag-nets. However, the biggest attraction for visitors is the historic part of the city near the old port, which is today considered a popular destination for the city's public transport boats and numerous sightseeing boats. Even ad-mirers of architecture have something to gain, such as the many bridges, of which there are a total of 2,428 in Hamburg. Venice and Amsterdam are not close to that quantity. The longest bridge in Hamburg is 3,618 meters in length and is known as the Köhlbrand Bridge, although it can only be crossed by automobile. With an under-clear-ance of 53 m, ships can pass through even at high tides, so that pack-ages are never delayed at the Port of Hamburg.

Hamburg

HAMBURG AND COMMERCE— Every year, more than 22,000 new

enterprises are registered in Hamburg. This is the most in Germany.

— Over 3,000 export companies make Hamburg the heart of German foreign trade.

— Hamburg is the third largest centre for the civil aerospace industry worldwide.

— Approximately 400 Chinese companies have registered offices in Hamburg, making it among the leading locations for Chinese enterprises in Europe.

— Approximately 395,000 people are employed at more than 12,500 logistics companies in Hamburg's metropolitan area.

Source: Logistics Initiative Hamburg

The Port of Hamburg

Romantic side of Hamburg

location3 location32014

page 12 page 13

issue 09, volume VII.

QUO VADIS QUO VADIS

Is it difficult to obtain land for construction?VGP spends a lot of time looking at and selecting plots of land at top lo-cations. This is also the reason why this magazine is called VGP Loca-tion. In our opinion, location is an important, if not the most impor-tant driver of success. It is not easy to find suitably located plots of land at reasonable or acceptable prices, but in each of the different countries we are supported by our local peo-ple to seek and identify interesting locations. With regard to the overall market conditions in semi-industrial

and logistics markets, we can see a clear increase in demand for lettable area almost everywhere where we are active. This interest has substan-tially increased during the past six months and resulted in the selling of our 20% stake in the VGP CZ I and VGP CZ II portfolios in the Czech Re-public. The proceeds of this sale will be mainly reinvested in the expan-sion of the land bank.

Q You have also worked for large corporations, such

as Ontex. Now you are in a family company. What are the differences in the governance of these enterprises?In VGP, it is important to find a bal-ance between entrepreneurial spirit and the regulatory requirements im-posed on our Group as a joint-stock company. Without an entrepreneurial spirit and the willingness to solve po-tential problems, it would be very dif-ficult to work as a team. The decision-making structure in VGP is very flat, which enables us to solve operational

problems quickly, have a meeting in a very short time and concentrate on the real issues at hand and find solutions without the need to write lengthy internal memos. In today's world, things are changing rapidly and our tenants also require a short re-sponse time to their requests.

Q You were a member of the team that carried out VGP's

floating on the stock exchange. What was the most difficult thing?The situation on the market at the time of the initial public offer (IPO) was very difficult. When we started the IPO process in early 2007, finan-cial markets were still in very good shape. However, the IPO process is usually a relatively lengthy process, and when we were ready to finally float the first signs of the financial crisis began to appear.

Despite the difficult conditions on the financial markets, we de-cided to go ahead with the IPO, and in hindsight it proved to be a very good decision. It allowed our Group to restructure internally and to in-troduce proper corporate govern-ance rules and appropriate report-ing in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. We can see the benefits of this decision almost daily in discussions with cur-rent and potential tenants, suppliers and investors. Today, VGP is quoted on Euronext Brussels (Belgium) and on the Prague Stock Exchange (Czech Republic).

Q How successful is VGP on the stock exchange now?

Access to capital markets continues to be difficult for such companies as VGP, and therefore we consider this market to be closed for the moment. This is also why we focused in 2013 on alternative options for funding and decided in July and December 2013 to issue 2 bonds for a total no-tional amount of € 150 million. In July 2013, we issued a € 75 million 4-year bond and in December 2013 we issued a € 75 million 5-year bond. Both issuances were hugely success-ful as both cases were three times oversubscribed.

VGP is simultaneously expanding to various markets and building several new halls. It has benefited from its en-try to the stock exchange and the fact that companies are recovering from the crisis and seeking suitable ware-houses and offices at the best locations.

Q What is the company's current financial position?

The VGP Group has always had a strong financial position. As at 30 June 2014, VGP's shareholders' eq-uity stands at € 209.4 million with total assets of 423.6 million and net financial debt of € 165.3 million. Group policy has always been to work within a gearing ratio (net debt to eq-uity) of 2:1

Q What investments have been most helpful for VGP recently?

Although initially we focussed mainly on the Czech Republic, our home mar-ket, and other Central European coun-tries, since the beginning of 2013 we have been strongly expanding in Ger-many, where VGP wants to become a leading developer. Our portfolio of German locations has been increasing substantially over the past 18 months. Today, you can find us in Hamburg, Bingen, Frankfurt, Berlin, München and Leipzig, and we are currently looking at a number of other strate-gically located plots of land. Overall, we currently have in Germany more than 1.5 million m2 of development land, enabling us to develop some 700,000 m2 of lettable area. Earlier this year, we also opened an office in Germany, located in Düsseldorf. In ad-dition to Germany, we have recently also been very active in Estonia, where we bought around 110,000 m2 of development land in June 2013.

Since then, we have already com-pleted our first fully leased building of 22,000 m2, one additional building of 21,500 m2 (about to be fully leased) is under completion and a last building of 7,500 m2 (fully pre-let) is being started. In other words, over a 12 month period we have successfully developed more than 50,000 square metres in Estonia.

Q What is the situation on the real estate market?

“It is diffi cult to balance between entrepreneurial enthusiasm and regulations by which we are overloaded, as a joint-stock company,” says Dirk Stoop, VGP Chief Financial Offi cer and Investor Relations Manager, during an interview, has he draws back the curtain on fi nances and confi rms that VGP is now in a strong and stable fi nancial position.

CFO DIRK STOOP ABOUT HIMSELFI am married and have two daughters aged 17 and 15. We live in Brussels, Belgium. When time permits, I enjoy riding my bike. I love skiing in the Alps in the winter. Our family holidays mainly include discover-ing new cultures and countries. Before I joined the VGP team, I spent most of my career in various “treasury” positions with international companies. I worked with one of them in London, for 4 years.

DIRK STOOP:Location is the most important success driver

VGP Park Hamburg under construction

location3 location32014

page 14 page 15

issue 09, volume VII.

OUR TEAMOUR TEAM

NIKOL RANDÁKOVÁ, RECEPTIONIST

Nikol, a 22-year-old graduate of Tourism and Public Administration at the Business Academy, worked after

graduation with the company Partners. She joined VGP as a receptionist prior to this year's summer holidays. You would probably never expect it

of her, but Nikol enjoys football and even actively plays it.

ASTRID METZER, OFFICE MANAGER During her career, Astrid often held the position of office manager, most commonly in law firms. Astrid lives in Düsseldorf, the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Her hobbies include reading and music. She also enjoys travelling very much. She is very responsible and communicative person.

AXEL KÜPPERS, PROJECT MANAGERAxel graduated from the Peter Behrens School of Architecture in Düsseldorf in 2004. Before joining VGP, he worked for Real SB-Warenhaus, which is a member of the Metro Group. Axel is married and has two children. He spends his leisure time with his family or indulging in his passion of sailing.

MARTIN BRUNS, PROJECT MANAGERMartin is 40 years old and lives in Düsseldorf with his wife and two children. He graduated from the Technical University of Braunschweig and started his career 13 years ago as a project manager and consultant in the area of infrastructure. In 2007, he was off ered an interesting post by Metro Properties, and in the past two years he took over responsibility for one of Metro's biggest projects, the new retail park in Essen, where he held the position of commercial project developer. In his leisure time, Martin rides like the wind as he enjoys windsurfi ng.

NAĎA KOVÁČIKOVÁ, COMMERCIAL OFFICER FOR SLOVAKIA

Beginning in her studies at the Faculty of International Relations at the University of Economics in Bratislava,

Naďa gathered work experience in such companies VÚB bank and SkyEurope. For the past 4 years, she

was in charge of renting spaces in Lozorno, Žilina and the new emerging locations for PointPark Properties. Naďa is an experienced traveller and did not hesitate to go

abroad for education. She studied, for example, in Australia and exotic Taiwan.

LUCIE HLAVÁČOVÁ, FACILITY SPECIALISTBefore Lucie joined VGP, she led a team of workers and designed jewellery in the Pearl Bohemica fashion jewellery company. She also worked as a designer and assistant in a passive house studio. Her greatest joy in life is her daughter Ella. Lucie has non-traditional hobbies: producing hand-made paper and taking photographs in the nice old-fashioned way of analogue on black-and-white film.

CHRISTINE QUINT, ACCOUNTANTChristine was born and grew up in the small town of Mettmann near Düsseldorf. After completing school, she worked for several years as an accountant before she had two children and taking care of her family. She has worked with VGP since April this year. She has quite a number of responsibilities. Christine is responsible for accounting and pay slips for all VGP Parks in Germany. In addition, she is a great cook and loves working in the garden, reading and going on trips.

INGO LENSING, PROJECT MANAGERAft er his studies at the Technical University of Braunschweig, Ingo worked for 18 years as a project manager and consultant on various projects from transport infrastructure to environmental protection. With his extensive knowledge and experience, he joined VGP in February 2014. Ingo is an athlete in body and soul. He enjoys cycling, races and skiing and also enjoys taking photographs. He lives near Hamburg and has three children aged 3, 7 and 9 years.

PETER THON, PROJECT MANAGERBefore he committing to architecture, Peter made a detour through the study of medicine, where he spent two years. However, he was finally drawn to architecture. He studied in Düsseldorf and in New York at the prestigious Parsons The New School for Design. His portfolio includes a large number of buildings from design and visualisation to management of entire projects. Peter lives in Düsseldorf, is single and has one child.

NEW PEOPLE IN THE VGP TEAM

ASTRID METZERDARIUS SCHEIBLE

WILM SCHWARZPAUL

MARTIN BRUNS

INGO LENSING

PETER THON

AXEL KÜPPERS

location32014

page 17page 16

location3 issue 09, volume VII.

OUR TEAMOUR TEAM

years to come. You are thus saving over the long term. Short-term sav-ings are not desirable.

Q The building administration policy is recorded in

the Right Book. JV We all know the Red List, some people have White Papers, and we in the VGP administration have the Right Book. The book defines VGP standards in the area of management and main-tenance and was created only this year as a result of the work of an en-tire team of colleagues from the prop-erty management department.

Q How is this document used in practice? What is the

specific work with it?JV The Right Book contains and describes maintenance procedures “from floor to ceiling”. You can learn the required condition for roads, sidewalks, grass areas and shrub and tree groups as well as deadlines for inspections and other necessary and related activities which are not prescribed by legislation directly, but which need to be performed, such as the cleaning of roofs.JM We use it as a cookbook. If I have doubts about whether a property is in the proper condition, I have the possibility to look into the Book and verify whether or not everything is in accordance with standards. An integral part of the Book is a photo-graphic documentation of how the parks should look, in our judgment so that we can be proud of them and our tenants can feel pleased by them. The standards develop along with the needs and requirements of the

tenants, which we are continually monitoring and trying to respond to flexibly. Accordingly, the Book of Standards will also evolve over time.

Q Is there something specific about VGP's way of building

administration? JV We heavily focus on being actu-ally flexible, meaning what is typi-cal of the present time and what is required. And then, accomplish as much as possible what we say and what we promise, and to adhere to our promises. You may say to yourself

that this is a matter of course, but it is often forgotten. JM Thanks to the responsible ap-proach of VGP in the construction of parks, good selection of materials, high-quality construction work and used technologies, the administra-tion of the VGP Group's property is largely a pleasure. We strive to en-sure that the signing of a lease con-tract with our clients does not mean the end of our relationship, but in-stead its beginning so that our ten-ants are satisfied in our parks over the long term.

Q What is building administration all about?JAKUB VODRÁŽKA (JV) Building administration is

a comprehensive set of activities that lead to maintaining and, ideally, increasing the value of the managed prop-erty. Administration also provides for the fulfilment of the operational requirements of the owners or tenants of the managed properties. JIŘÍ MEJDRECH (JM) You take care to ensure the smooth operation of the buildings. You plan and arrange the nec-essary investments in repairs and take care of the inspec-tions and compliance with all the activities subject to regulation. You prepare bills for services and energy, settle insurance claims, complaints, etc.

Q What is the difference between good and poor building administration?

JV It makes a difference if you do something for money or because you want things to work properly and you enjoy it. When you manage things successfully, then the money will come too. For a certain range of managed properties, you must have a support system for the work, and you cannot just do it yourself with the help of one or two accounting tables or charts. In VGP, we invested in such a system in 2010 and have been improving this ap-plication on an ongoing basis and offering it to our ten-ants. VGP's main asset has always been its employees. They have always been our first priority, and this is how it shall remain.JM You can recognize a really high-quality administrative company at the moment when the owner decides to sell the property and is satisfied with the resulting sales value. Your work from the position of property management was carried out with maximum efficiency and the property did not lose any of its value.

Q When it is possible in building management to make effective savings and when

by contrast are savings ill-advised?JV It is a well-known fact also confirmed in our own ex-perience that the costs of repairing poorly maintained facilities are in the final stage considerably higher than the costs spent efficiently on an ongoing basis for regular maintenance and service of such facilities. At VGP, savings

are based on a large extent of identical or very similar buildings and on bulk purchase of services.JM It depends on the kind of the real estate administered. If you are managing property where the owner did not spare on inputs during construction, it is pleasure. Other-wise, it is a nightmare, because you may find yourself in a spiral of repairs, complaints, defective or failure technolo-gies, and so on. Property management is a long-distance run. You do not plan for a month or year, but for several

IT IS A PLEASURE TO MANAGE THE ASSETS OF VGP“If the building administration works well, it leads to an increase in the value of the assets,” says Jakub Vodrážka, executive of VGP FM Services, which manages our buildings. The interview also included Jiří Mejdrech, Managing Director of SUTA, which provides VGP with comprehensive facility services.

HAVING THINGS UNDER CONTROL“The company VGP FM Services s.r.o. was created based on the natural need to manage the property development activities of VGP. The main idea was to have control over the state of the buildings, which remain the property of VGP, and also properly to provide services for tenants,” says cthe company's Managing Director Jakub Vodrážka.

location3 location32014

page 18 page 19

issue 09, volume VII.

BRAND STORYBRAND STORY

reunification in 1989, there was a chance to enter new markets and expand its success.

On 18 December 1991, Rico and Paul Hartmann joined together. Hart-mann – Rico a.s. was formed out of similarly oriented companies. The new subsidiary of the Hartmann Group is now responsible for busi-ness development throughout the Eastern European market.

More successful than everSince the late 1990s, the focus of the company has been placed more strongly than ever on the trend to-ward hydroactive dressings, which are especially appreciated by pa-tients with chronic conditions. Cur-rently, the composite is active on several medical fronts: in the produc-tion of agents for the treatment of wounds, which lead to more comfort-able patient care, it was used for risk prevention in surgical procedures in hospitals and clinics.

Hartmann – Rico can be viewed from many angles today: as

a substantial producer and distribu-tor of medical supplies and hygiene products, as a major employer, as a solid partner for training, as an aid to citizens, and as a major exporter. From 2005 to 2007, the company was even named Exporter of the Year in a nationwide competition and has been awarded the titles of Company of the Year and Product of the Year.

Rajhrad serves the entire eastIn order to improve its storage capacity, increase service quality and save CZK 7 million on costs for transportation and logistics, corpo-rate management decided to stream-line distribution into two new distri-bution centres – a western centre in Dobrovíz near Prague and an east-ern centre in VGP Park Brno. The new centres are no longer dedicated to only certain types of products, as was previously the case, but will offer the same range of products to two catchment areas.

“We last significantly increased warehouse capacity 9 years ago.

We have felt the insufficiency since 2009, and so we have had to lease other storage,” stated logistics man-ager Vladimír Stodůlka. Logistics will now be much simpler. The ware-house near Prague will serve the western part of the country, while the Rajhrad Park will cover the east-ern part and Slovakia.

The early 19th century, with the beginning of the industrial revolution in Germany, ushered in a new era of “modern wound care”. An operation was launched then that can now look back on a history of over 190 years – a successful one.

HARTMANN – RICO:We are the helpers of helpers

Hartman and Rico, two independent companies at the time, found their way into a business which special-ised in wound care. After merging in 1991, the company became a global producer and provider of medical supplies and hygiene items. Recently, the corporation Hartmann – Rico be-gan operating a new logistics centre in VGP Park Brno.

With the merger of the two firms, a new company was born under the name Hartmann – Rico, a company that could build on a foundation of individual success. Hartmann looks back on a long tradition that began with the cotton mill of Ludwig von Hartmann and has now grown into a global corporation.

From a cotton mill to bandage material factoryLike many others, the company started small in the beginning. When the Stuttgart-born Ludwig von Hart-mann took over the bankrupt Mee-bold spinning mill in Heidenheim at his own expense in 1818, no one could have guessed that the small manufacturer of stockings, caps and handkerchiefs would later become a leading European partner for various medical facilities.

Through his dedication, the firm developed into one of the most pros-perous cotton mills in Germany, and Hartmann quickly became consid-ered one of the most important in-dustrial pioneers in the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1833, King Wil-helm I awarded him a noble title along with the Order of the Württem-berg Crown.

In the 1840s, Württemberg was hit by a deep economic crisis, which also affected Ludwig Hartmann's com-pany. So he decided in 1843 to leave the spinning mill and bleaching plant to his three sons, Carl, Edward and Paul, with the desire that these facto-ries remain always connected. As in-structed, Carl took over the bleaching

plant, Eduard worked in the spinning mill in Herbrechtingen and Paul took over management of the cotton mill. The sons were therefore successful and brought the indebted company back into profitability under the new name Ludwig Hartmann's Sons.

In the meantime, only Paul ori-ented himself in another direc-tion, away from the family – this would later prove to be a clever action. With the acquisition of ta bleaching plant on his own account (1867), Paul Hartmann founded an independent operation, the Paul Hartmann Bleaching, Dyeing and Dressing Company, and became in-dependent. The path to his innova-tive production of absorbent mate-rial was thus opened.

Hartmann's improvementsHowever, the Hartmann Company was not satisfied with producing

only bandages, and so it brought new improvements onto the market. For example, in the late 1930s it intro-duced its first proprietary ointment dressing, Branolind, which prevented bandages from sticking to wounds, thus making their replacement pain-less. This contributed significantly to greater patient comfort.

In the 1960s, the company cele-brated great success with the unique solution of a compression pad for general practitioners, and a few years later it scored again with compres-sion pads, this time with edges folded inward, giving it higher absorption and maximum breathability. Since the end of the 1990s, the company has been intensively focused upon the trend toward hydroactive dressings, which are appreciated especially by patients with chronic conditions.

A new merging partnerIn 1891, under the name Richter & Compagnon, the Czech part of the company that was later to be called Rico, began producing bandages in Chomutov. The products were suc-cessfully exported to other Euro-pean countries. In 1914, the Rico joint-stock company was finally born. Its founding fathers Julius Richter and Jindřich Kohn decided a few years later to move the seat of their successful company to the town of Veverská Bítýška, where it is found today.

Even after nationalization in 1946, under the socialist planned economy, Rico was one of the most important manufacturers of cotton wool, band-ages and hygiene products. After

RAJHRAD'S FIRST LESSEEVGP Park Brno is located on the edge of Brno near the town of Rajhrad close to the R52 highway connecting Brno and Vienna. The first lease contract concluded for this park was with the international company Hartmann – Rico. VGP developed Hall III for Hartmann – Rico with more than 8,620 m2 of space. It includes more than 550 m2 of administrative space and more than 8,000 m2 of warehouse and production areas. In addition, Hartmann – Rico concluded a lease contract with VGP for lease of areas in Tuchoměřice totalling 5,234 m2.

Hartmann – Rico warehouse in Rajhrad

location3 location32014

page 20 page 21

issue 09, volume VII.

INTERVIEWINTERVIEW

In viewing his works, which often span many square metres, one senses that the letters and geometric shapes liter-ally protrude from the wall. Technical perfection while toying with space is the artist's unmistakeable signature. Carolin Westphal spoke with Mirko Re-isser about graffiti, his upcoming book, and about Hamburg where he lives.

Q When did you start working with graffiti?

I started in 1989 when I was already 17 years old. Looking back, I think it was a good thing that I immersed myself in the world of graffiti after

having already broadened my hori-zons somewhat. That meant I had the chance to develop my work more openly and with more freedom.

Q What motivated you to do so?Through my interest in the

early hip-hop scene which had just made its way to Europe from the US, I met like-minded people and became part of a global scene. The first time I took hold of a spray can and cre-ated a large piece of graffiti with my friends I knew I never wanted to do anything else. It was exactly what I had always been looking for.

Q Which artists and movements have inspired your art?

I was of course familiar with the American books “Spraycan Art” and “Subway Art”, but my first book on graffiti was “Graffiti Live – Die Züge gehören uns” (“Graffiti Live – The Trains Belong to Us”). As a result, my style was more influenced by the Eu-ropean, German graffiti artists.

Even before graffiti, I always drew in a photo-realistic way and took the advanced art course at school. Van Gogh and Dali – I thought it was all really impressive. There was never an outline to be seen in those

MIRKO REISSER Tags are my self-portraitsThe works of the graffiti artist Mirko Reisser, who creates under the name DAIM, go beyond decorating the streets. They can be found also in museum expositions. You would not expect to see graffiti there, now would you?

works. So I didn't see any point in giving the letters an outline in my graffiti. That's why I started hatch-ing, creating shapes not with an outline, but through the use of light and shade.

Q What message do you want to convey with your work?

Reduction is perhaps not the first word that comes to mind in relation to my works, but with regards to my choice of motif, this term is quite appropriate. I depict my writer's name, DAIM.

My work is also primarily about the construction and deconstruction of ty-pography, however. It's about captur-ing that moment between formation and dissolution, constructing letters, creating shapes, but also calling them into question at the same time. And then my works naturally have a very personal element to them as well.

I drew my tag, DAIM, for the first time in 1991. I still see my tags as a self-portrait, even today: by concen-trating on a particular idea, technique or style, by working on a particular subject over a long period of time, by getting involved in this process, in the end you learn a lot about yourself and your own character. And then that is expressed in the images you create. It's the continuous development of my work and character which still excites me, even after 25 years.

The content is clearly linked to the form. Those are my letters. That is my name. That is my work. Naturally, I don't have to worry about what to write for each image. I'm really happy that I have this basis and can concen-trate on the space in which the piece is to be presented or the style, which functions like a feeling that has to be just right. Using the name DAIM is be-coming more and more complex. I see it like a kind of self-portrait – my en-tire character seeps into my images.

Q What inspires you about expressing art on houses?

The spray can and engaging with shapes and my letters, and especially with this theme of reduction, that is precisely what excites me. With re-gards to technique but also due to be-ing bound to a scene, you have to be

able to compromise. But learning to be uncompromising and to emanci-pate yourself from the scene some-what is an exciting development. For me, that intensified in 2005 when I began working with the art collec-tor, dealer and curator Rik Reinking and taking part in larger and larger exhibition projects.

Graffiti is also a challenge in this regard, since I don't want to view the style I've created as a limitation. Having developed a style primarily allows you to continue building on it without always having to start from scratch. Breaking out from this and experimenting can also mean play-ing with techniques or changing the place of presentation. After all, a 3D piece on a wall isn't the same as one

on a canvas in a museum, as a sculp-ture or as tape art.

Q After your early years here in Hamburg, you studied

Fine Art in Switzerland. What brought you there?After seven years on the graffiti scene, I had to take a look at the proverbial bigger picture. I found out about Lucerne School of Art and Design in Switzerland from a friend and decided to study Fine Art there. These years were instrumental for the development of my canvas work. In Switzerland, I was also able to de-vote myself to my sculpture work.

Another discovery made during my art degree was the importance of presentation. Outdoors, an awareness

of the work goes without saying. But inside? We didn't just want to hang up a few canvases; we were searching for all-encompassing presentation. That's how the ever-growing exhibi-tion series, Urban-Discipline, came about in Hamburg between 2000 and 2002, which I organized with my studio community, Getting-Up. We wanted to create a forum to discuss how graffiti and street art changes when it is put on canvas or exhibited.

Q How do you view your career over the last 25 years?

I believe that there is no exact point in time to make the right life deci-sions, but rather a certain time-frame. Sometimes this can stretch

location32014

page 23page 22

location3 issue 09, volume VII.

INTERVIEW INTERVIEW

I am extremely pleased to have at-tracted renowned authors for the book: Johannes Stahl, art critic and cu-rator, takes a look at the history of graf-fiti, the tradition of which my work is undoubtedly rooted in, but from which it also strives to break free.

Belinda Grace Gardner, famous for her many essays on contemporary art published in topical publications, deals with the signature as content, forges links between my works and those of the protagonists of concept art such as On Kawara and his Date Paintings and Hanne Darboven, and draws conclusions about works of concrete poetry.

Arne Rautenberg, a freelance writer, artist and cultural journalist, rounds off the essays with an inter-view which not only considers me as an artist, but also as a private person.

Rik Reinking, art collector, dealer and exhibit organizer, has written the foreword and, having followed my ca-reer from the beginning, provides an insight into the relationship between collector and artist.

Q How do you think graffiti has developed in the

recent years?A very big market has grown up around the idea of street or urban art in the last few years. I still see myself as a classic graffiti artist, however.

This isn't so readily accepted by peo-ple because it doesn't come across so small, stencilled, and comical, but appears rather more awkward, col-ourful, wild, illegible, secretive and aggressive. That's why only a few classic graffiti artists have any suc-cess on the art market. I'm more of an exception in that respect.

Q Has the artistic community protected you in the past few

years and did this lead to specific works which would not have otherwise been possible?Around 2005, when I began working with Rik Reinking, you can clearly see a break in my work. I was taking part in more and more exhibitions and they were becoming increasingly im-portant. For example, my large wall pieces at Art Cologne, in Villa Merkel, in the Barmen Art Gallery in Wupper-tal or my contribution to the Venice Biennial supporting program. My works changed in a way that would not have been possible on the street. Although I do perceive museums as public spaces. But here I reach people with my art who wouldn't take any notice on the street. And I am always looking to conquer this space with its very specific requirements in new ways. As such, I had enough thinking space and freedom to develop new works.

Q Do you think that graffiti is a sign of rebellion?

When graffiti emerged in the 1960s in New York, it was definitely a sign of rebellion. It was ultimately about finding a way of making your mark in a world in which you otherwise felt ignored. As such, graffiti was defi-nitely politically motivated. At that time, graffiti conquered the whole world and it has developed in defin-ing ways right up to today. I have been working legally for a long time now, mainly within the context of museum exhibitions and on canvas. There are still definitely political and rebellious elements to my works, but these are perhaps somewhat more subtle and personal. Graffiti, along-side oil on canvas, sculpture or instal-lations, is simply my chosen form of artistic expression.

Q Would you say that Hamburg is a city of art?

Hamburg is definitely a city of art. Alongside a flourishing urban scene, we also have museums of the high-est standard such as the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the Deichtorhallen, etc. Hamburg also has a lot to offer with regards to the performing arts and music.

For more information: http:// mirkoreisser.de

over weeks, sometimes years. You just have to make the right decision within the right frame of time. I was always within the right frame of time with my work, but some-times I took a long time to implement things, to under-stand and internalize them. But I did implement, un-derstand and internalize them nonetheless. That is no strategy for up-and-comers, of course, who go through everything within a short space of time. But then that is also a question of character. In that case you don't need to look back self-pityingly. And that's a good thing, of course, in retrospect.

Q After working with your tag for over twenty-five years, do you still

identify the name DAIM with yourself?Absolutely. And using the name DAIM is becoming more and more complex. My development as a person strongly corresponds with my development as an artist. That is a process which has something to do with personal matu-ration, with growing up in general. On the one hand, you become well versed in lots of processes. On the other hand, the desire to understand what you have just created grows. In this way, you learn something about yourself as a person and your character.

Q Are you currently working on any international projects?

After the group exhibitions Existentielle Bildwelten (Exis-tential Visual Worlds) at the Weserburg, Bremen's mu-suem of modern art, and Beyond Melancholia. The Reink-ing Collection at the Museum für Völkerkunde Hamburg, which opened only recently, I am now working on a solo

exhibition at the Zone Contemporaine in Bern. An impor-tant and large project which I am currently working on with the Italian publishing house Drago is my book, “Mirko Reis-ser (DAIM) 1989–2014”, which is 320 pages long and will be released later this year. It provides extensive insights into my work for the first time, from the beginnings of my career and my time studying Fine Art in Switzerland to the present, where my pieces are primarily on view in large-scale museum presentations. In over 350, in some cases not previously published, illustrations, the book shows the de-velopment of my work over 25 years and all my important creative periods. This includes wall pieces, canvases, sculp-tures, editions, graphics and my later tape artworks.

location3 location32014

page 24 page 25

issue 09, volume VII.

DREAMSDREAMS

up in prison. It was high time to leave the nest,” he writes in his book Peo-ple and the Ocean. From the decks of ships he built with his own hands, he saw penguins on Tierra del Fuego and icebergs near Svalbard. The ships took him to Rio de Janeiro's favelas and Africa's shoreline villages. Dur-ing the voyages, he wrote books and remembered those he had devoured as a boy. “Since childhood, I have been reading books on such amaz-ing seafarers as Erikson, Columbus and Magellan. My respect for them is what ‘drives' me to do what I do. They sparked my imagination and set my life's course,” he writes. It was not in Ruda the Seafarer's nature to content himself with words, how-ever, and his desire to sail around the world in a replica of Magellan's carrack led him back to dry land. He built the ship himself, with the help of old friends and odd acquaintances.

When they ran out of money, they travelled somewhere to make some more, because as a staunch teetotal-ler and non-smoker Ruda refused sponsorship offers from tobacco companies and the nouveau riche. When they finally completed the Vic-toria and set sail in 1999 for a trip around the world, Ruda only stayed on board through Europe, West Af-rica and the Caribbean. Once they reached Florida, he switched to the Polárka (Polaris) yacht and set off to sail among icebergs. “Only those indispensable to the voyage should remain on board, and I ceased to be so in America,” says the seafarer who affirms that he lives like a beggar but travels like a king.

Billionaire adventurer “When I was 12 years old I climbed my first mountain, and I just kept going.” This is how Steve Fossett, probably the most famous modern adventurer, described his youth. He compensated for a lack of talent in

sports with perseverance and tenac-ity. He climbed mountains, learned to sail a yacht and was a passion-ate Boy Scout. He demonstrated the same dedication even in his business career. Fossett began with a single phone in a rented office and ended up as a billionaire. “There was a period of time where I wasn't doing any-thing except working for a living,” he reminisced. “I became frustrated with that. I finally made up my mind to start getting back into things… At first, I'd do about 6 weeks a year on adventure sports.” After selling his companies, he was able to dedicate his life to extreme endeavours at full throttle. On 21 February 1995, he became the first person to fly over the Pacific Ocean in a balloon. Seven years later, he flew around the world, and 4 years after that he managed to do the same in an airplane with-out refuelling. Fossett also circum-navigated the world several times in a ship. From April 2004 to March 2005, he held the record for the fast-est circumnavigation (58 days and 9 hours). Fossett also held 32 addi-tional speed and endurance sailing records. What's more, he climbed mountains, skied cross-country and finished the world's toughest triath-lons and ultramarathons. He lived as a true adventurer and died as one, too. On 3 September 2007, he took off in a single-engine aircraft over the Nevada desert and during strong turbulence disappeared from radar screens. Despite an extensive search, the mystery of his disappearance was resolved by accident. More than a year later, a tourist found some of Fossett's personal effects in the Ne-vada Mountains. This led to a discov-ery of the plane wreck and eventually of Fossett's remains.

Too young for adventureJessica Watson was only 11 when 18-year-old Jesse Martin became the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world solo. Two years later, Jessica told her parents she would like to try it as well. From the very beginning, her journey was accompanied by con-troversy with the recurring theme of “too young”. A circumnavigation

Some of us are born with a thirst for adventure. It matters not whether one is young or old, man or woman, from a rich family or without a penny to one's name. And the adventures are just as diverse as are those who pursue them. Some seek it in the stratosphere, others at the ocean's depths, while for still others the ex-perience of a lifetime would be to buy a Trabant with friends and drive it around the world.

A penniless seafarerYoung Rudolf Krautschneider was far from a model student. Rather than suffering on his school bench, he pre-ferred to be in a broken-down boat at an abandoned garden on the bank of the Dyje reading books about the ad-ventures of seafarers from long ago. He left his Czech home when he was 17. He wandered, hopping from one job to another, increasingly drawn to the sea. “Most of my friends ended

ADVENTURERS WITHOUT BORDERS

The Himalayas

We grew up in a time when we need not struggle for our day-to-day survival. We surround ourselves with security and comfort, and we enjoy adrenalin only in moderate, carefully measured doses. But somewhere deep inside us there still lingers a thirst for adventure. It is diffi cult to say just why. Even adventurers oft en do not know. When journalists asked the famous mountaineer George Mallory why he tried to be the fi rst person in history to climb the highest mountain in the world, he thought for a long time before answering, “Because it's there.”

The world is a book and those who do not travel

read only one page.Attributed to St. Augustin

philosopher

Twenty years from now you will be more

disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones

you did do.Mark Twain

American writer

Rudolf Krautschneider

Steve Fossett

location3

page 26

issue 09, volume VII.

DREAMS

is not just sunlit ocean and leaping dolphins. On her journey, Jessica en-countered 15-metre waves, hurri-cane-strength winds and a storm that knocked the four-tonne yacht over four times in a single night. The argu-ments and problems with financing the journey were put to an end only by the millionaire Dick Smith. He said that in the months that Watson

would spend on the high seas, there would be thousands of young people her age taking far bigger risks by tak-ing drugs or driving drunk. “Adven-turing around the world in a yacht is far less risky and far more inspiring.” So, 210 days, 38,000 kilometres and 576 chocolate bars later, Ella's Pink Lady with its 16-year-old captain on board returned to its home port in Sydney. Among the first to congratu-late Jessica were Jesse Martin, who personally tied the yacht to the pier, and the Australian Prime Minister, who declared the young sailor to be a new national hero. But Jessica imme-diately demurred. “I don't consider myself a hero,” she countered. “I'm

just an ordinary girl who believed in a dream.”

Too old for adventureMountaineers say that climbing Mount Everest adds 70 years to any-one's age. If this is true, then Japa-nese adventurer Yuichiro Miura must have felt like 150 during his latest climb. Climbing the highest mountain in the world, which has claimed the lives of 240 mountaineers, in one's 80s may seem inordinately hazard-ous. Miura, however, has a weakness for such stunts. During his life, he has climbed and skied the highest moun-tains on all seven continents. In 1970, he was the first skier to conquer Mount Everest when he skied down a

nearly vertical 2-kilometre wall and stopped less than 80 metres from the edge of a crevasse using a parachute (the film The Man Who Skied Down Everest won an Oscar for best docu-mentary). He has suffered numerous injuries and broken bones and has had three cardiac surgeries. In addi-tion, he has had to struggle for the ti-tle of oldest conqueror of the world's highest mountain with his eternal rival, Nepal Sherpa Min Bahadur Sherchan, who is 2 years older. Miura climbed to the top in 2003 at age 70; Sherchan did it 5 years later at 76. There was nothing left for the tireless Miura to do but to travel to the Hima-

layas again in May 2013. On 23 May, he stood on the highest point in the world, and then anxiously awaited news of Sherchan's parallel trip. The Sherpa needed to turn back for medi-cal reasons. This does not necessarily mean the end of the story, as Miura's father Keizo skied down the slopes of Mont Blanc at 99.

Adventure is accessible to allBut not everyone allows it into his or her life. We can always find a thou-sand reasons to resist its call and stay at home. Adventure need not involve skiing in the Himalayas or sailing stormy seas. It is enough to remem-ber what it was that prevented us from fulfilling the last impulse to do something. Sign up for a diving course, try horseback riding, pack a suitcase and set off without knowing where you will end up. The greatest obstacle to adventure, after all, is in our own minds. Only when you make it through will you understand how right the famous philosopher Laozi was when he said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Life's a bit like mountaineering –never look down.

Edmund Hillary mountaineer, the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest

Do not go where the pathmay lead, go instead

where there is no path and leave a trail.Ralph Waldo Emerson

American philosopher

Jessica Watson

The journey begins with a single step

Do you need space for your business? If so, you might be interested in what options are currently available to you. We have prepared a brief overview of the current offer for leasing warehousing, logistics and manufacturing space in our parks. Please do not hesitate to contact us in case of any additional questions and to arrange a personal meeting.

DO YOU NEED SPACE?

PROJECT BUILDING OFFICE AREA (M2) WAREHOUSE AREA (M2)

VGP PARK TUCHOMĚŘICE B built to suit 13 200

VGP PARK PLZEŇ B built to suit 19 300

C built to suit 7 272

D built to suit 3 845

VGP PARK BRNO I built to suit 11 700

II built to suit 2 880

VGP PARK ÚSTÍ NAD LABEM P2 built to suit 5 184

P6 built to suit 8 712

P7 built to suit 1 944

VGP PARK ČESKÝ ÚJEZD I built to suit 14 314

II built to suit 2 602

HUNGARY

VGP PARK GYŐR A 110 1 650

B2 500 9 800

SLOVAKIAVGP PARK MALACKY B built to suit 18 000

C built to suit 14 400

D built to suit 22 500

E built to suit 21 600

ROMANIAVGP PARK TIMIŞOARA A1 built to suit 17 500

A2 built to suit 17 500

B2 built to suit 16 000

ESTONIA

VGP PARK NEHATU B built to suit 6 390

D built to suit 10 616

LATVIA

VGP PARK KEKAVA A built to suit 32 640

B built to suit 28 800

GERMANY

VGP PARK HAMBURG A.2.1 built to suit 18 279

A2.2 built to suit 11 808

A.3 built to suit 9 500

A.4 built to suit 13 159

B.1.1 built to suit 32 077

B.1.2 built to suit 20 896

B.2 built to suit 36 000

B.3 built to suit 5 184

B.4 built to suit 10 080

C.1.1 built to suit 10 501

C.1.2 built to suit 9 044

C.2 built to suit 2 375

D.1 built to suit 2 502

E.5 built to suit 7 300

E.6 built to suit 2 400

VGP PARK LEIPZIG A1 built to suit 8 950

A2 built to suit 8 950

B1 built to suit 25 750

C1 built to suit 2 375

C2 built to suit 2 375

VGP PARK BERLIN A built to suit 23 040

VGP PARK MÜNCHEN (10 buildings) built to suit 250 000

Tomas Van Geet tomas.van.geet@vgpparks.eutel.: +420 724 359 916

Petr Kovaříkpetr.kovarik@vgpparks.eutel.: +420 724 237 331

Renata Cihlářovárenata.cihlarova@vgpparks.eutel.: +420 777 483 249

Jiří Zitajiri.zita@vgpparks.eutel.: +420 724 327 034

Naďa Kováčikovánada.kovacikova@vgpparks.eutel. +421 908 110 002

Darius Scheibledarius.scheible@vgpparks.eutel. +49(0)173 2688263

Andrejs Konstantinsandrejs.konstantins@vgpparks.eutel. +371 291 366 61

László Baloghlaszlo.balogh@vgpparks.eutel. +36 305 439 966

location3

VGP © 2014